One of the nice things about traveling for customer presentations, visits, etc. is that ultimately the sales guy always wants to take us out to one of his or her favorite restaurants. It’s an excuse to go and showcase other things in the city besides just the facility that I happen to be visiting. This was the case in my recent trip to Nashville. After a good successful morning meeting, the account managers took the group of us to Bricktop’s for lunch.

While it was called Bricktop’s, there wasn’t a lot of brick present. Instead, there were a lot of wooden tables, booths, and a slightly open kitchen. It was well lit and definitely had the vibe of a hybrid between one of the new-age Contemporary American restaurants that I enjoy right now and an Applebee’s. I’m not saying it was cheap or cheesy, but I am saying that it was more appealing to the mass market. We took our seat in a booth, and I was informed that Bricktop’s was well known for their deviled eggs. So we ordered a round for the table to go with my Arnold Palmer (my default daytime business drink of choice). And for lunch, I went for the steak tacos. They weren’t a specialty or anything, just appeared to be one of the healthier alternatives on the menu.

The eggs came out in a very nice presentation. The plate was divided into six sections by three pieces of thick cut maple bacon, and one egg sat in each section. Looking at the plate I naturally assumed that this meant I was supposed to have half a piece of bacon with my egg. So, I cut a piece off stuck it on top of the egg, and took a bite. Deviled eggs are really a pretty simple dish…whipped egg yolks put back in the solid whites. But when you combine maple bacon with it, they go to another level. The yolk was whipped silky smooth, and flavored lightly with a little bit of mustard. The bacon was sweet and added a wonderful textural element to the eggs. It was a great appetizer, and give that there were only 5 of us, and I was the guest, I naturally helped myself to the orphaned egg and finished it too.

Where the eggs were a very good and pleasant surprise, the tacos were a bit more pedestrian and ho hum. The steak was well cooked, but lightly seasoned. It was accompanied by a little bit of Vermont cheddar, cilantro, and a cream sauce. I added some of the salsa as well to give it a little bit more acidity and a hint of sweetness from the tomatoes. There isn’t much more to say beyond that though…just a simple steak taco. It wasn’t cooked poorly, but wasn’t amazing. It was good, but not special.

It ended up being a good lunch. There was a good business conversation, and I got to try the deviled eggs which were really good. The taco was filling and good. There was just enough there to make it memorable, though I’m not sure there was enough that the next time I find myself in Nashville I will make it a definite place to stop by.